Netserk said:
He had his outbreak with BC, which basically means he had it with Sky.
So that's the second option?
But his GT talent just came with GAR. You can´t discuss that reality away.
What you mean with 2nd option?
Basically it comes down to this: Sky is not overperforming compared to other teams. All but one rider had great results
before joining them. The hypocrisy here is beyond help. Sky gets the heat while the real shady teams like RSH and Movistar don´t get that attention.
Afrank said:
With Sky he also won PN, and placed 2nd at Pais Vasco, the Dauphine, and Criterium international. Aside from his Giro top 10, his other best results at Saxo were mostly some high placing's in TT's, and a couple top 10's at some smaller stage races. Not to mention the pivotal role he's played in Froomes train as Froomes last man to reduce whatever was left of the peloton down to a select group of only the best.
So you blame Porte for a normal steady improvement in his 20s?

Porte showed, at a young age (as it always was before 1990), in that Giro that he can climb with the best. Why should he decline? He isn´t Cobo of Saunier. Those shady come-and-go-guys are way more suspicious...
The Hitch said:
No he probably wouldn't.
What you are trying to say (im assuming) is that if you take away 12 minutes from portes time he would in theory still end up in the top 10.
That ignores the fact that the Laquilla break also gave him a team of domestiques (including CAS) at his disposal.
And that is wrong?

Almost all T-10 finishers have the help of their team....
The Hitch said:
It also meant that plenty of people that would have easily beaten Porte for top 10, gave up on it and started working as domestiques or looking for stage wins.
Half the peloton could top 10 a giro if you remove most of the contenders from the equation and give them CAS as a superdomestique.
That is absurd.
If we add that 12 mins to his overall finish in his
first GT, he wold have been down 19 mins. In most GT´s that is around 15th*. Now please explain how half of the peloton would finish inside 19 mins on a GT? Never happened, never...
(*On this particular Giro this 19 mins would still be good for T-10.)
The Hitch said:
Your beloved Chris Horner could have probably top 10'd any gt from the late 90's if you gave him those 2 things.
Plain wrong. He couldn´t. Simply b/c he wasn´t good enough to be considered for a GT-Spot in his 20s. What this überdoper does nowadays is plain sick...